With his military career over and his ego bruised, Jason McAdams is ready to start over. As a founding partner in Greenway Range, his new life is everything he'd ever dared to dream about, but it also puts him in constant contact with the one woman he can't have: his best friend's little sister.

Molly Cain has loved Jason for as long as she can remember, and seeing him now—damaged and self-destructive—is a constant heartache. Watching him numbly work his way through woman after woman is damn near intolerable. Until one summer night changes everything.

After a rocky start, the sex is hot and naughty and all Molly knew it would be. And when he makes another pass at her, Molly doesn't say no. Or the many times after that, either. But Jason carries a secret—one that's kept him away from Molly for all these years, one that could ruin everything. He's been shot at and seen death, but letting the woman he loves find out the truth is the real worst-case scenario…

Heartbroken and deeply wounded by Jason McAdams’s unforgivable ways over the years as he went through woman after woman, Molly Cain made herself a decision to close herself off from him, putting paid to years of jagged history and friendship. Ironically, it’s only then that Jason feels that loss sharply and decides that he wants a do-over. He made a sudden, complete turnaround after years of self-destructive behaviour, and understandably, Molly is wary and on the edge counting down the days to see if their newfound stability – which includes hot sex – has an expiry date. Their newfound intimacy however, is also peppered with psychological and emotional tests that Molly puts out for Jason to fail – obstacles which he at least tries to overcome.

I found it refreshing to read HelenKay Dimon’s interpretation of the ‘older brother’s best friend trope’ and the gritty, hard-core wrestling with the emotional issues of unrequited love that had been trampled upon time and again. It’s hard to forgive Jason’s behaviour (look at my profile for this) towards Molly, but Ms. Dimon’s treatment of the self-preservation instinct had me gravitating towards Molly in sympathy (Jason had lost my vote long ago) whose actions have been very much shaped by their turbulent past where she has always turned out the loser. The acknowledgement however, that there is no easy way to overcome years of loss, guilt and pain impressed me and perhaps, their tentative ending where the happy-ever-after isn’t quite a shining, golden one yet is exactly what I needed.